The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of those who experience first hand how close we are to the USA. In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values – and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don’t seem to write much online – or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have less people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact – but that only makes it more authentic.

“We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while – they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army – one that the movies brought to the public as series showing “ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events”. Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day ? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company.

They have a terribly strong American accent – from our point of view the language they speak is not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they even admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other.

Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine – they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them – we are wimps, even the strongest of us – and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans.

Here we discover America as it is often depicted : their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuitylack of privacy and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland – everything here reminds of that : the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the post parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the hearth of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of a whole people who provides them through the mail all that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location : books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. in such way that every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission. And that is a first shock to our preconceptions : the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention.

And they are impressive warriors ! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seem to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter wooden tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight unmoving in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark – only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered – everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump.

And combat ? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all – always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks : they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the ennemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting : they just charge ! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later – which cuts any pussyfooting short.

We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is – from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe.

To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of their military excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America’s army’s deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owned this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers”.

Overall Impression: The article is not a Complementary piece, but a Glorification piece. It is so ‘over the top’ that it appears to have been written by a marketing or advertising person. The article also ‘slights’ French soldiers, and demonstrates a lack of real knowledge of the French personality. Nor does the ‘author’ know the mission and composition of OMLTs.

If a US commander sent his troops into combat like Rambo, he would be Court Marshaled.

This does not have the tone, cadence or nuances of French. Must likely it was written by one of the hundreds of Psy-ops operatives in the US Army, one of the thousands of paid Israeli bloggers or written by a PR firm.

What do they think we are; babies? This is unadulterated Empire Wars advertising.

Obviously, this Frenchman is NOT a Parisian parlor pink, but an authentic French patriot, who knows the REAL score, and appreciates what America has done, and will continue to do, for our friends all over the world.
To YOU, mon ami, I apologize for all the ‘Freedom Fries’ comments that circulated around the world after 9/11/01. I always knew there were good people living dans la Belle Patrie; now we’ve heard from one of them.

After googling Sayed Abad I found this amazing article. If the author ever sees this, I was there with you. I was the only red headed soldier there. You have to remember me! (Hahaha) I was with the 101st in 2008 when the OP was still in it’s infant stages. I remember seeing you guys in your tent everday and I tried to speak French to the best to my ability. I’m sure it was horrendous (haha). I’ll never forget you guys and how honored WE were to serve along side the French. You guys were very kind! We all shared some losses but we formed a bond that no other could understand unless they were there. I remember standing in the guard tower for sometimes longer than 5 hours, even In the blistering cold. GREAT ARTICLE, BROTHER. We appreciate the kind words. Hope all is well with you all. If you do ever see this email me at steve.bohn@yahoo.com

thanks for having translate my article. thanks to my partnership U.S unit for all. American people must be proud to get this kind of boys.

————

We are truly proud of our fighting men and women. It is wonderful to run across an ally who truly understands the nature of our struggle. It is not a war for a country…we fight, and YOU fight, so that people may be free to pursue the values that have lifted many a person from squalor and vice. You fight for life, liberty and the opportunity to pursue happiness. THAT is your mission…and as you so kindly thanked our men and women, I thank you for your sacrifice on behalf of the free peoples of the world.

We see only the opinions that the press deem worthy to repeat. Anti-Americanism sells papers in other nations as much as it sells here. We don’t hear the voices of foreigners that work closely with Americans and admire them.

Thank you for that lovely article. My husband served in Afghanistan last year. Although he spoke of serving with soldiers from other countries, I don’t know if there were French soldiers assigned to his area. I will have to ask him.

Toad, regarding the physical size of the troops, that is something that varies widely. A recent U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Ross McGinnis, I believe only weighed 135 lbs. There was no larger man on the battlefield that day.

So little do we read such a beautiful and truthful depiction of our troops from a primary source such as this one. Thank you for your words..they made me even more proud of our American boys over there in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The greatness of America stems in no small portion from the greatness of our friends, and the great people of France are very dear friends, indeed. And as proud as I am to be an American, I am likewise proud to think of France as a nation of friends, too.

Friends may squabble, but as this letter notes, when push comes to shove, friends are there. And just as France will be there for America, so too will America be there for France. Our history of brotherhood simply runs too deep and too strong for it not to.

Read that carefully and then make up your mind if it is a compliment or an insult. I would say sarcasm and insulting, excuse me if I am wrong and it was just the translation… but it sounds strange to me.

Care to offer any evidence at all? Did you even bother to check out the original article? I’m guessing that a lot “sounds strange” to you based on your grammar and diction. Just because something defies your expectations does not qualify it as “an absolute pile of bullshit.” Also, if you are going to say something incendiary, have the courage to use your real name.

Thank you very much for writing this. It’s very heartfelt. Depending on perspective, we probably see another as that “annoying” little bother. He picks on you, pulls your ear, sticks his tounge out at you etc. But, someone hurts little brother, there’s hell to pay! In the end, we do get along.

I do not think this is BS. Soldiers do not fight for the political view pointand in many cases (most) all the way to Generals do not even know what it is. Soldiers fight to protect each other, their soldier brother. It does not matter what country they are from. Jesus and soldiers are the only two people who willingly give their lives for a cause but that cause is not IRAQ or AFGAN they die protecting their for their brother soldiers and not the war. No soldier is any different so how could the article be BS. Jesus died for you and the BS. I pray you will know what you died for. I would die protecting you. I spent 30 years protecting my brother soldiers, not my country. That comes as part of the soul of all soldiers. God Bless all soldiers.

In reply… A good friend of mine just returned from a U.S. ETT (same as OMLT) mission with ARSIC-Kabul. He was extremely complementary in regards to the French soldiers and their competence, courage and dedication to duty.

This made me swell with pride, and I usually do not. Thank you so much for this article! I am wondering if you could post the site where you received this from, because I would personally like to talk to this man and thank him.

i was reading the american replies with a smile on my face , as i know this is a piss take from a certain sarcastic comedian , i was glad to see that they didn’t look at it negatively. , but then the British slating started. ,point 1. .the British beat the BRITISH in the war of independence, and i am sorry but your view of soldiers in the US is so blinded by TV , i dont care if the average height is 7ft, you cannot be in the armed forces with the muscle bulk like described, you would be fit for f**k all bar a 2 min fist fight , there is nothing wrong with the US or UK army , i am not getting involved in that ,but don’t go kissing each other’s arses yet until you check if its ok with Israel, god forbid the US farted without their permission

You were by our side when we fought our war of independence from the British and we stood together in numerous wars since then. Now we stand together again! We may have had our differences at times, but we still support each other. Thank you.

It is truly rare that articles like this reach the mainstream media. As a Soldier who has fought in Iraq and am about to deploy to Afghanistan, it makes me proud to know that our Coalition partners appreciate all that we do. The American Soldier is absolutely amazing. When a comrade needs help, they will lay down their lives without a second thought. It is an honor and a privilege to command America’s sons in battle. Thank you for writing such a positive article, and know that the US Soldier is appreciative of all that our Coalition partners do.

I’ve made several visits to France but by far my most memorable came when I took a group of Soldiers to Normandy. Everywhere we went we were treated with great dignity. The people of Normandy have never forgotten 6 June 44. The Soldiers learned a great lesson about duty, honor and country during those 4 days visiting beaches, battle sites and the American Cemetery overlooking Utah Beach. Thanks for a great article.

It is Soldiers like the one who wrote this article that were the reason the French were our allies in wars gone by (and still are). We have misconceptions of the French (snotty, dirty, rude and crass) just the same as they have of us (rural, dirty, rude, and crass).

When it comes to Soldiering, all countries are the same–get done what needs done; help whomever needs it; keep your weapon clean.

My son is a platoon sergeant with the 101st in Afghanistan and was recently serving alongside French troops. He had nothing but positive comments to pass along about THEM! Seeing such a nice article about our own men (and women!) should make us all proud. He and his men will be happy to see how they are viewed.

I have seen the love and gratitude from the French firsthand when traveling Normandy in 2007 in research of my own father’s war journal. Old farmers I did not know wanted to hug me and start pouring strong drink. I’m glad the latest generations are showing mutual respect. I look forward to my return to France in 2009 (65th) when I’ll be jumping with the Liberty Jump Team to honor the Airborne Soldier.
Leland Burns – USAF
Co-author, Jump Into the Valley of the Shadow

[…] the positive is encouraging. From a translation of a French article on American troops, here is an interesting take on things in Afghanistan. “We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while – they are the first and […]

Thank You for that article. While some of it may have been playfully exagerated, it is appreciated all the same. I wish our own newscasters and politicians would try to accentuate the positive once in a while.

Thanks for the first hand account. This is something the press can never get right. This is something that has to be experienced to be understood.

Where does America find such wonderful, young men and women to fill the ranks of its Armed Forces? And the French author reminds us that the same wonderful men and women exist outside of America as well.

In four years soldiering with the French in France, Germany, and Iraq, I can tell all that the feelings expressed here were felt just as strongly about our French counterparts. Forget the stereotypes! Know the people.

For those that doubt the difference in size, after many trips to Europe I can tell you that the average American is a few inches both taller, and disproportionately broader across the shoulders. A fact first brought to my attention when I was trying to buy a shirt, in Belgium. The shop keeper asked if I was an American, when I asked to buy the shirt. I responded in the affirmative and asked what that had to do with my purchase. She kindly informed me, “you’ll need a size larger shirt than usual for your height to fit your shoulders” I then started to look and noticed sure enough, the people around me were not only a few inches shorter than the American average but also not built on nearly as stout a frame. After eating their usual diet for a few days I could see why. I was never so happy to hear a commercial say “Beef it’s what’s for dinner” when I returned. It is all a trade off, that same diet is likely what gives them extra years of life over the average American.

Having recently joined the Infantry myself, I can say that being tall or muscular is not a prerequisite of the profession, but certainly a result of being in it.

Thank you for sharing your perspective on the best ambassadors America has, the Troops.
As for the size difference:
It comes down to nutrition.
Europe was locked in military struggle for several CENTURIES, including the first half of the 20th.
When you don’t eat much, and don’t eat well, you don’t grow.
Europeans are getting bigger and stronger, and like us, fatter, due to better diets especially in the last 30 years.
I lived there for several years and have seen the difference between generations.
Hopefully they’ll be able to outfight the islamic enemy within, both politically and physically, as currently they’re losing.

Merci Beaucoup!! from a very grateful American woman…. I also offer my deepest condolences for your great sacrifice this past August. My prayers are offered for the repose of the souls who were lost, and for the well being of the wounded, and also for all the families and fellow soldiers, that they may be granted comfort.

[…] Posted by dracphelan on 21 Nov 2008 at 10:19 am | Tagged as: Recipe “Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine – they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them – we are wimps, even the strongest of us – and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans…” – French soldier on the Americans they serve with in Afghanistan […]

It’s been 5 months now that we’ve been sharing our daily life, but also our food, with our band of brothers from the States. It’s time for us Frenchies to give you a full report of our cross-Atlantic culinary experience (in Afghanistan of course).

We, as children born in the land of gastronomy and famous chefs like VEYRAT, COFFE, LOISEAU … have sampled things that will last forever in our taste buds.

This experienced is reserved for the luckiest of us because only two assignments allow to taste the flavours of US cuisine. For others, it’s combat rations only.

Breakfast is more than welcome because it’s very hearty and totally fits for morning patrols or any other activity. It’s made of eggs, fried bacon (forget about your diet), various cereals, pancakes with cheese, fruits, spicy sausages and peppered minced-beef cream (???) which comes with balls of salty bread that one must cover with that same cream. Not much is missing from this meal, although; a purist like me would say that it lacks a good piece of grilled bread topped with a thick layer of salty butter. I am talking about feeling the grains of salt under your teeth and feel it melting on your buds (not place for cheap butter, you’re a Breton or you’re not).

Lunch is way less substantial than breakfast: simply put it doesn’t really exist. So it’s the occasion to open an MRE (combat ration). The American ration, designed for one single meal contrary to ours which is made for the whole day, is made-up of several packets with mysterious writings. Well, French curiosity is stronger. The preparation for the main dish is simple: fill the chemical bag with water, be careful not to fill it over the mark otherwise there a risk of explosion (let’s not forget that we’re in Afghanistan, it’s relatively dangerous) , then you must quickly insert the meal in the bag, position it on a flat surface towards the North with a 14.9 degrees angle (it also works towards the south), water starts to boil… You just have to wait while eating the sweets, the dried meat, the peanut butter, the industrial cheese and the other stuff contained in the package.
Here we go, one of the 24 different meals available to US soldiers is ready, and with the plastic spoon present in the kit you eat it. Sometimes a facial contraction appears, but we somehow seem to agree on that point with our American friends because they all come asking for that good French ration.

Dinner, on the other hand, is a great moment for the taste buds. The famous hamburger is faithful to our expectations and is excellent. It comes with fried chicken wings, fried chicken legs, fried chicken balls, pork ribs, fried onions, fried shrimps, corn, and little pizzas which only have their name in common with the traditional pizza. A few American recipes highlight the meal: chili con carne, tapas, fajitas (with tortillas).
However, a few gringos have a problem like I do: apparently Americans especially like spicy things in general. Hot spice is present everywhere. I personally think their mouths must be made out of steel, they say it’s to give taste to what they eat… well that Frenchman is not convinced.

Here’s how a gastronomic day happens in the land of Uncle Sam in Afghanistan.
Conclusion: we’re fortunate our Restaurant de France in Kaboul allows us to buy and enjoy our homely products, plates of cheese, cold cuts, but also vegetables which the US don’t seem to know that well. The most important thing for us remains the small parcels, filled with great stuff for the morale, sent by our families. It’s a moment we’re all waiting for like kids every Mondays during mail delivery. Once a month, we bathe in a moment of culinary happiness: red wine served with hams, dry sausages, cheese, pâté, and sometimes it’s our US comrades’ turn to grimace! Not that easy to understand the subtleties of French cuisine!

This is a wonderful article that reflect how the French people, the mass, feels about American people in general. There is this envy that exists amongst most of the French people I know… Don’t believe what the news say about the French because they are usually political comments by politicians… who would trust politicians?

This article moved me to tears. If you believe the U.S. media, the entire world hates us, especially our military. Both my sons serve. It really hurts me to hear this day after day. This moving tribute restores my faith in humanity. There is an old Army saying: There ain’t no athiests in fox holes. Well, I’d like to add to the saying: There aint’ no strangers in fox holes.

God bless the French. A big Merci from Texas. In closing, I just want to say my mothers maiden name was LeMonds.

And where can I get some of that French chow? You guys eat better than I do! :)

A must read: …Here we discover America as it is often depicted : their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by promiscuity and the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland -……

I’m not surprised by this. I’ve read a little about French anti-terrorist forces, and those people are no wimps. French soldiers know what’s what. So I’m not surprised they admire good soldiers who can be relied on, no matter what their media and their elites have told them about Americans.

I did have to laugh about the size comparision. I had a mental image of little kids being fed Gatorade to prepare them for service twenty years down the road.

As a Brit living in Normandy, who worked alongside wonderful Americans in North Sea oil drilling (Ocean Victory, Odeco, 1980-1) it’s good to read this post and the comments. HarleyDavidson writes about the American press, well you know what those people are the same over here in France and the UK. They purport to speak for us, but really don’t have any grip on the way ordinary people live or see the world. They don’t understand patriotism at all, for example. France is maybe more dominated by its so-called intellectuals than any other country, so it tends to come over as pretentious and arty-farty, but I know from living in the country out here, its full of warmhearted, gifted, yet modest people who match up to anyone anywhere.
Lets all make sure we listen to the people behind the frontpeople, people…

Many thanks to the Brave French man who worte this article. It is wonderful to see that there are people in other countries who understand that “Freedom is not Free” and are willing to fight to make sure that all of our ally countries still maintain those rights.

All too often, all we hear is the BAD stuff about our brave fighting men and women on all sides. Sadly the MEDIA wants everyone to think that things are far worse than what people like this brave man sees them. God Bless you for your taking time to help some of us Americans to see things from other’s perspectives. We are ALL in this together and must have each other’s backs.

Thanks again for taking time to write this article.. And Godspeed for a complete and peaceful ending to what the TERRORISTS started. They started it.. together, our brave men and women of all countries will END it.

America really does seem to recruit big kids into the infantry, and then helps them get bigger (in a good way). I am 5’11” and was about 185lb in my soldiering days, yet when we’d play with the Americans, I always felt like we were on the small side.

[…] by a French soldier (which by the way France is now an all volunteer force) with his impression of American Soldiers. I have lived in France for two years and this soldiers article was the French people that have […]

Whoah ! I though that translating this piece would surely raise some interest, but I never expected it to be that much… This page has now gathered move than twenty thousand page views and 75 comments – that is three times the second most viewed page on this blog and ten times what a page normally gets… Thanks for the love everyone ! I’ll forward that to the French soldier who authored the original version of the article !

By the way – one of you pointed a translation error, so I changed “promiscuity” to “lack of privacy” which is more appropriate in this context.

To my fellow Americans:
The French weren’t criticizing our troops when they opposed our invasion of Iraq, they were resisting Bush’s abject dishonesty in making the case for war. Our lying, disgraceful President Bush sold us all a bill of goods, and hopefully President Obama will give him his day in court.

To woundedduck:
Obviously congress believed what our president believed to be true. And our president got his info from our intel. agencies. So if you notice, he did not make the decision to go to war on his own. A large amount of our govt. helped with the decision.
So get off bush’s back.

Woundedduck, you two faced piece of crap. “President” Al Gore would have had to the same thing but he’d have dragged his feet for another few months, then do an LBJesqe redux of Vietnam, try to bring Saddam to the “bargaining table” and, ultimately, bring humiliation to the U.S. and our superb military once again. If President Bush lied then so did all the world’s intelligence services. It’s not President Bush who’ll be on trial. It will be Obama and his despicable Socialist agenda. Just take a look at the vermin he’s letting into the Executive Branch. We in the U.S. will get what we deserve because this country as a whole totally ignored the salacious background of a man raised by communists because we let the press obsess over the Republican vice presidential candidate. Sarah Palin would have been head and shoulders better than that incoming imbecile Biden as v.p. and the country will come to realize that, sadly, just a bit too late.

We are fighting the right war at the right time with the right kind of military. We’ve only got a couple of months more to get the job done before this “political agitator (oh, excuse me, I should have said “community organizer”) and disciple of Saul Alinsky and Bill Ayers’ cripples us and throws this country to the wolves.

I guess you never read “Saddam’s Secrets” by George Sada, written by Hussein’s second in command in the Air Force. Saddam Hussein secretly transported his WMDs to Syria just prior to the war. He used 50 some-odd planes with their seats removed; a dam had broken in Syria and everyone thought Iraq was involved in humanitarian missions. Gen. George Sada was interviewed by numerous American TV and radio talk shows in 2006. This subject was also written about in “Because They Hate” by Brigitte Gabriel and reported on in the New York Sun, the Jerusalem Post, etc. Check out Google.

a nos amis francais, je peut offrir seulement “Merci”… to our French friends I can only offer thanks..

That story moved me like little else I’ve read recently. It is so easy to assume that stereotypes apply more universally than they do.

I lived in Belgium for years, spent lots of time with Frenchmen, and I do recall that the vast majority of them were decent, good and reasonable people. Their media is as leftist as ours, and as disregarding of public opinion.

One of the main themes of the Left is that our soldiers are either victims because of economics or culture and have not other choices. And, once in theater and as that dirtbag Murtha said, the Left then proceeds from……

Thank you. My Grandpa soldiered his way across France in WWI and again in WWII. He returned home wounded each time, the second time home saw him “alive” for 3 months before his death just prior to Tibbet’s mission/victory.
Your thoughtful article left me envisioning a calmer, warmer, breeze and a quieter ocean lapping the shore next to the Pacific seaside grave where he was laid to rest.
And yes, those are a very fine bunch who serve today.

Woundedduck, If you’re going to post on a site like this, your knowledge has to be a little deeper than what you get from reading AP news articles in the NYTimes.

Democrats in the House and Senate do not get their intelligence reports filtered through the White House. They get briefings from the intelligence agencies themselves.

Face it, Democrats voted to invade another country — not because they believed it was the right thing to do, but as part of a political calculation of domestic politics. They were dishonest with the American people about their true positions, and then they undermined our soldiers while they were fighting in the field.

Meanwhile, nothing Bush has said regarding Iraq was a lie. Saddam had chemical WMDs and a dormant nuke program ready to be kick-started as soon as sanctions fell.

God, I pray that our military will be strong to deter evil, and strong to quickly perform their orders. God, I pray that you will enlighten our leaders so that their orders will be your will. Not our desires but your will, will be done. Amen. Oh, and please help me be a good Marine. Amen.

There’s another English translation posted on the French blog under Comments (Commentaires). It’s more accurate. The Rambo spoofing and tongue-in-cheek observations regarding American military readiness and “disconcerting” tendency to bomb first and ask questions later is much more pronounced. It’s an obvious satire very much in the French tradition; I’m surprised the author was so benevolent as to include the two or three straight-forward commendations about Americans. Maybe the author was hoping non-French speaking patriotic Americans would get all misty-eyed and widely circulate this on the net as a tribute.

This is the last paragraph of Merlin’s post, Mikel, and as a fluent French speaker resident in Normandy, I find no satire or irony in it.
My translation would be:

“To those who do us the honour of welcoming us to their forward combat posts, and who every day show proof of the highest soldierly qualities, to those who pay every day a heavy price in the deployment of the army of the United States of America on Afghan soil, to all of them we owe this article, hoping in our turn to never prove unworthy, and to be able to continue to say in their hearing that we are all the same ‘band of brothers’”

The translation in the post above is not perfect, eg it represents the Americans as saying ‘we are all the same band of brothers’, when in fact Merlin has the French saying it, but the sense is true. Likewise the paragraph which mentions the Americans style of combat. Merlin is admiring the directness, and lack of pussyfooting.

I have no idea what your motivation might be in attempting to twist this into a satirical attack, and do not care to guess.

Thank you so much for this article. It is beautiful and it has touched my deeply. It is a sad day when so many in our own country do not see what these amazing soldiers are doing for us.
God Bless America.

To French Autor, Merci for writing and translating this article mon ami. This is truly a GREAT STORY! It is a shining example of what our two countries can accomplish when working together to defeat these hirabi’s. I am reminded of an example which I always remember about French Commandos. There was an attempted hijacking of an Air France jet I believe in Paris in the 1990’s. The hijackers intent was to crash the plane into the Eiffel Tower and kill as many innocents as possible. French Commandos stormed the aircraft and killed all the hirabi’s while saving the aircraft and it’s crew, except for one passenger who was struck by I believe a stray round. This serves as a true example of what your forces are capable of.

64 years ago, last June, I participated in the Invasion by bombing ahead of troops that were wading ashore at Omaha Beach. We were flying B-24’s. All wars are hell, but the evil has to be stamped out or we would all be speaking German today. The targets are smaller today, but not less important. The USA has always tried to assist it’s allies and destroy those who would destroy the American freedoms [or anybody else’s freedom.] It is a big expensive burden to the American taxpayers. I might note that the loudest pipsqueaks try to threaten the USA, but they do not fully understand the will of the American people!

The “peppered minced-beef cream (???)” could be biscuits and gravy but in the old Army (Vietnam and earlier) it more likely would have been something we affectionately referred to as “SOS.” The concoction that any decent mess sergeant would have in the chow line for breakfast everyday consisted of ground beef cooked in a heavy cream sauce (flour and milk) and was ladled liberally on slices of toast. Of course the official name was creamed beef on toast but soldiers as they are wont to do came up with a much more poetic term of endearment and it stood for “sh_t on a shingle.”

As to the Frenchman’s compliment, it is heartening to know that comrades in arms are that and always will be in ways that no civilian can ever imagine.

This made me cry, My husband is one of these Rambo’s there right now!
And to see that the French people are seeing and telling the truth about what honorable men and women are risking it all to help others they never knew, and that they do not hold grudges against people of France because a handful had spoken against us. Everyone else had said sooo much, and I too thank the Author for his words!

[…] This article first appeared back in September, but it is worth re-reading today, on Victory in Iraq Day, about the respect Americans in uniform earn from our European allies who share the dangers of combat duty with them. An excerpt: Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins and creatine – they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them – we are wimps, even the strongest of us – and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. […]

One month after being back of Afghanistan, I read your comments. May be there are some bad translation in some sentences or words. I’ve been during 3 months embedded with my team of 4 guys with a US Army platoon, in a far away combat out post. during this time, we have been mortared, rocketed, fired with small arms… All those events and our relations make us stronger against the enemy. despite of this, I have the felling to get half of my life with those men, and I consider them now like my brothers. There were no political view in our job. Only make the job, helping afghan Army and trying to stay alive. On the 6th of november, I know that our combat out post has been erased by a suicide truck (with 1500 pounds of explosive). thanks to God, there has been no serious casualties and after 24 hours everybody was working again. In order to give the right way to the translation, I give you the one made by the U.S platoon leader, who corrected my translation to prepare the ceremony of our departure :
Since three months we are deployed in SAYED ABAD. During this time, we have shared our everyday life with this platoon. You guys, are from of one of a well known infantry battalion. To someone who has not worked and lived with you, you appear to be no different than any other unit. Having lived with you and gotten to know you, we have had the honour to live with one of the most highly recognized units.

We are involved in an exciting, but tough, adventure in Afghanistan. It seems convenient to return to our everyday life with “common soldiers who live an extraordinary story”.

Who are you, soldiers from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, and what support do you bring to my guys of the OMLT? Only a few of you belong to E. Company, Most of you are from A. Company of this prestigious Battalion in which we have had the chance, and the honour, to work alongside. We have also been able to conduct combined missions with this company. We indeed owe you these thoughts which will shed some light on you guys.

They got a terribly marked accent. You are American. I will explain that in America you do not speak English. How many times was it necessary to write to you what I had to say rather then lose the precious time it would take to try several pronunciations of a word which would seem commonplace? Whatever your native State is, we never find the same accent. Even you admit that in certain crisis situations you cannot always understand each other due to the excitement in your voice and your heavy accent.

You are large men. From a young age you are fed Gatorade, protein, and createin. You appear as though you are head and shoulders taller than us, and your muscle structure reminds us of John Rambo in his prime. Not like us.

Your values are where we discover America, as it is often depicted: the values which are yours are carried on here in your actions, amplified by the crowded conditions and the solitude of our post in the middle of this Afghan valley. Honour, Homeland. Everything reminds you of it: the American flag blowing in the wind above the combat outpost. In spite of recruitment, nobody here has the any other motive then to proudly represent the Stars and Stripes.

It comes as a shock to view your successful ideals: the American soldier is not individualistic. The teams, the squad, the platoon fight are at the centre of all its attention. We who believe what it means to be an American have made a mistake.

And what soldiers you are! From Kabol to our combat out post, we did not meet one bad soldier. Strange when we know how critical French infantrymen can be! Even if some of you show a light stoutness, all of you give us lessons of everyday life as an infantryman. Beyond the port of the battle dress which never seems to bother you, with helmet chin strap, helmet, ballistic glasses, rifle, the long hours of guard do not seem to truly bother you. your only protection a wooden tower, which is only a square meter of plywood thrown above outer walls maintaining 5 hours of guard. You use your night vision devices to constantly observe any possible danger. You are like statues, no entertainment and no breaks. As night falls the operations on the combat outpost are the same. All movements are made in the dark.

The vehicles move in the same manner. Everything is done in the dark, to include manual refuelling of your vehicles.

If you ask me how you are when you are in the fight? I would say if you saw RAMBO you have seen everything: always ready to quickly come to the aid of a team in need of support. It is one of your secrets: you change from your t-shirts and into your battle dress in about three minutes. When you arrive near the enemy position your mode of action is simple and puzzling: you charge! Followers of the off-loaded assault, you throw yourselves into the fight first and then ask questions, what limits the procrastinations. No badly posted soldier, no soldier who seems lost in the middle of the crash of the fights. Without a doubt this is most surprising for someone who is used to being alongside our French platoons.

You came in support of our troops even though they were unaware of how dangerous the situation might have been. The American soldier is a beautiful soldier, a deserving heir of those who freed France and Europe, a deserving heir of those of the 101st Air Airborne.

For those who honour us with welcoming us into their combat outpost and who every day displayed the most beautiful military qualities, for those who pay every day a heavy toll to the deployment of the Army of United States of America on the Afghan ground, for all this guys we simply hope in turn that we proved worthy of being considered a part of the “Band of Brothers”.
God bless you all, god bless coalition forces, god bless America.
HOu-aa!!

Then on our website, you can find the same kind of article made by the platoon :
For about two months now I have been working side by side with the French OMLT. I remember when I first showed up to take charge of the combat outpost my unit was located at and I found out it would not just be American forces there but also a small section of French. Being the typical American I was making jokes in my head about the French Army. These last two months have truly been enlightening for me and corrected a grave misconception of the French Army.
Let me say this first I am not envious of their job. Being responsible for training and mentoring the Afghan National Army (ANA) is a job that can only be described as herding cats. Having only worked with the ANA on a couple of missions I have come to realize that the OMLT must have the patience of a Saint. I seriously doubt that I would have the patience to do the job they are doing and I don’t think I could do it nearly as well. Their patience was also displayed almost every night while dealing with me and my soldiers. Due to the rough living conditions some of the OMLT were living in a tent that also housed our television. Although we would try and remain quiet and respect the fact they were sleeping it didn’t always work that way. Too many times while watching a close football game we would begin screaming and yelling over the game. Somehow each night they never yelled at us and never complained. Their patience in dealing with us alone can be considered amazing.
The French willingness to help is amazing. No matter where we, as the American Army, would go the French Commander located at my base would always try to arrange support from his OMLTs and the ANA they were training. Their willingness to support our guys made my job a lot easier and gave me a better feeling knowing that the French OMLT and ANA were watching our back. On more then one occasion we would respond to a situation and when we reached the location the French would already be there and would give me the current situation on the ground.
The French always seem to know what was happening. As an American I, like my fellow Americans, take pride in what we do and think that everything we do is the best. I will have to say when it comes to the French Intelligence versus American Intelligence the French have us beat. All too often the French Commander would come to me and ask if I knew about a situation. I would be forced to stand there and give him the confused puppy look. Typically about thirty minutes after the French told me I would finally get the same information from the American Intelligence. This proved to extremely valuable on more then one occasion. American convoys on several occasions were struck by an IED in which we were informed immediately by the French. Thankfully for their quick reporting we were able to come to the aid of those convoys in a timely manner. Luckily in each case there were no severe casualties however if there had been our ability to quickly respond, due to French information and reporting, would have saved lives.
The French have a handicap; they do not have the training, resources, money, and assets in their military the same as Americans. They have been forced to make due with less and they have still managed to out perform us in some ways. The French military is a force that commands the respect of everyone else in the world. I can’t imagine what they would look like, and how truly incredible a force they could be, if they had the same training, resources, and assets. These past few months have truly opened my eyes and corrected a few misconceptions I’ve had about the French as an American. Although they are not as big as us and sound funny when they talk I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity, and I am honored to call these men my comrades and friends.

One of the writers I’ve worked with in creative writing workshops I lead aboard MCAS Beaufort sent this to me. I am now preparing an anthology of works produced during Milspeak workshops. I would like to include the Major’s translation of the piece in the anthology, due for release on July 4, 2009. Please visit the program website http://www.milspeak.org for more information about Milspeak. If you would like to have this work included in the anthology, please contact me. Thank you.

Via Tigerhawk, a French infantryman in Afghanistan gives his opinions on the American soldier. What you read might surprise you. Vive la France! Technorati tags: allies, French soldier, American soldier, Afghanistan……

Thank you for the accurate and concise impressions and observations of fact. I have been in Afghanistan over 2 1/2 years now as part of the Civilian Police team from the US. As a retired police officer with nearly 32 years total time, including advising in Iraq, I wholeheartedly agree with my French compatriot about the quatily of troops we see and work with here. Of course, when you get to the 0-5 level (Major) and higher, the common sense and reality check goes out the window with many. The same as in many international beurocracies!!

Jean-Marc Liotier at Serendipitous Altruism has a translation of an original French article about American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman. As Liotier points out, here in the US and in France echoes of worldwide host…

As a former Marine (Vietnam), I’ve come to realize that America’s fighting forces are the best Americans of us all. We’re raised to put others first and wear the uniform with pride. Behave in a manner that is representative of our branch of service and the country we love (and an occasional protein shake).

“Some” of our politicians in recent years have strayed off course but the “real” Americans are still here, waiting for a leader who will alert the world to the simple truth that “real Americans” still live here. We are not politicians, we never have been and for but a handful never will be.

God bless you my friend.
R.Cates
(frmr) LCPL USMC

While “some” American politicians are not acting in the best interests of the world, others still “get it” and are waging their own war in Washington.

Our friends at Granite Grok steered me to this, a translation of an article by a French infantryman serving in Afghanistan along side soldiers from the US Army (from what I could tell from the article, the US soldiers……

I was a US Army Officer on liaison assignment with the French Army, (4eme Regt de Hussards) back in 1980. The soldiers of my Regiment Francais were all extremely motivated and very good soldiers – from Officer ranks to NCOs to draftee soldiers. I remain very proud of my “adoption” by the regiment. They taught me some things and I taught them some things. French politicians and news media are like the US politicians and news media. If you REALLY want to learn what the truth is, just like in America, you should talk with the ones who are “where the rubber meets the road.”

I wish this word could get back to the French people in general. Not very long ago over wine in Cologne, a young German told me how grateful he was for everything that the U.S. was doing in the world, but that he couldn’t say it very loudly because he didn’t want anyone to know how he felt because how they might react. I wondered just how many Europeans feel that way, yielding to peer group pressure, as people do everywhere, I suppose. Still, we face a common foe and Europe is at a more immediate risk.

Very interesting item about US troops, as seen by one of the French troops serving alongside them in Afghanistan: A Nos Freres d’Armes Americains. OK, OK, you might not actually read French. My apologies.* An English translation is here: American…

I worked with the French Army many years ago and I have a great respect for them. The problems between Americans and Frenchmen are caused not by the men of those countries, but by the media.

There is very little reality in the world today, just perception that is doled out by people who never leave their glass cubicles in the news buildings they work in. If we could hang every reporter and media person on the planet in one day, the world would tilt back into it’s correct rotation instantly.

Every sad thing that has happened in the world has been played out for maximum spin by the journalists of the world. Every evil and foul subject has been glamorized by the media and given maximum time on air. Every beautiful event, every story of human courage, has been shoved into a closet. When there only 24 hours in a day, and they control what the world sees and hears, we are a lost people.

As a soldier, you never fight for a flag or a political party or idea, you fight for the guy in the hole next to you. You risk your life and willingly expose yourself to enemy fire not for any bumpersticker phrase, but for your buddies, because you know when it is you laying in the road, they are going to come for you, no matter what.

Please let us find some way to free ourselves from the grasp of the media and their shallow, simple, all the news all the time, view of the world.

As a Frenchman and a former soldier, allow me, you Americans, to tell you why you are wrong:
You believe we hate you when, in fact, whe like you as(bothering!) brothers, we admire you (our only cowardise is not to admit it fully!) and we are deeply, even my generation (born in 1968), gratefull for your magnificant behavour, not only in 1944 but all this years of the Cold War and even after…
I had the privilege to meet some of your Marines: you call them “Rednecks”, I call them “Gentlemen Warriors”: always this cultural misanderstood!!!
Glad to see us friends again….
Au nom de Dieu, vive la Coloniale !
Semper Fidelis.
Sgt Eche, 2eme RIMa (ret)

just want to say thank you to this soldier for his kind words about the USA’s fighting men and women.

it is nice to hear such kind words, especially when so much international coverage of the USA is so negative.

i do wonder how much of this filters back to the french public… or even the american public for that matter. it does not appear that postive stories the USA ever get any bandwidth… it’s all “abu ghraib” this and “guantanomo” that…

[…] I am often saddened by the France of today. So it is with joy I bring these thoughts from a French military man who is currently serving alongside US forces in Afghanistan (HT: Anchoress): We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while – they are the […]

This shows just how much the United States and France have in common. In either country the soldiers represent the true character and sense of honor of the common man. Their goal is to advance the cause of freedom and are willing to sacrifice their very life to do so. On the other hand, the politicians of both countries generally represent only their own selfish and misguided ambitions. I’ll cast my lot with the soldier any day.

Unbelievable. Guess who won? First place in the Council category was The Colossus of Rhodey with Culture of Whine (a rant). First place in the non-Council category was Serendituous Altruism with American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a……

In many ways, this generation of warriors is better than my own. I saw action as an enlisted infantryman in Vietnam and went on to become an armor officer, eventually retiring in 1991. One thing annoys me, however: Our soldiers are MEN, not boys. Whether they’re 18 or 28 or, well, you get the drift. Just as there are no atheists in foxholes, you’ll find no boys in the ranks of our combat forces!

To the French author of the orignal post, there are stories about the bravery of the French armed forces as well. I read so many military blogs, I cannot remember just now the places where I have read about it, but know that our armed forces give credit where credit is due, and the French are not excluded. If I can find where I have read about you and your countrymen fighting the war on terror, I will post it.

Thank you for posting this, both the original author and the translator. I would like to believe, that regardless of the anyone’s political view, the troops who’s lives are on the line receive the full support of their countrymen. All we really want is for them to be home safe and sound with their families especially at this time of year.

I have to echo the positive comments on the relations between our two countries.

We organized a celebration/commemoration of the USAS (United States Air Service, now the United States Air Force) in France in 1918. Our commemoration was on July 14, 2008 – the 90th Anniversary of the tragic death of Quentin Roosevelt, Teddy’s youngest son and one of the pilots of the 95th Aero Squadron.

We had about 70 to 100 French people in attendance for the 3.5 hour event and we were welcomed and greeted so warmly. People came up to us and hugged us and embraced us though we weren’t in France in 1918 (of course). There were lots of American flags, etc.

It is about time someone posts information of the real story of what is happening overseas. I agree with #15 (can’t remember the name) 100%. The American people are only getting information our media wants them to have. I thank a Soldier and Vet every chance I have. Thank you for my Freedom and ridding this world of the terriorist, Saddam. May God Bless

Joycee, I thank YOU, for the blessing you have just given me: I am an old newspaperwoman, and know well that, when one person states they are doing such a thing as you just said you do to soldiers and veterans, the same has to be being done by many others! Bless you! :)

Very proud of the depiction of US soldiers conducting multi-national operations with our French allies under austere conditions in Afghanistan. Continued security cooperation and the enhanced combined efforts of allies against terrorist organizations will be required to successfully bring security where it is required.

As and American Officer, and although these views are my own, it is the Brotherhood of Arms and the respect that most US service members have for our allies and coalition partners that easily allow us to assist in anyway possible. Having worked with Allies and Coalition partners for the past 6 years, I can honestly say that there is nothing that I nor my commrades would not do for them, that we would do for ourselves.
It is this cooperation that is needed to be successful in defeating the threats to our freedoms and cherished way of life.

This article doesn’t surprise me at all. As a prior USAF Attache in Paris during Operation Desert Storm, I can tell you that the bonds between the French military and the US military are very strong. Yes, there are French soldiers who dislike Americans just as there are American soldiers who dislike the French. There are senior French generals who openly criticize the US in public because it’s the politically correct thing to do. But privately they are very pro-US almost to a fault. Americans can rest assured that when the bullets start flying, we are indeed a Band of Brothers! I wish every American could read this article. Thanks for making it available.

I’m so far behind on Watchers Council business that I’m getting lapped by a week. Before anything else though – I’d be remiss in not alerting you to the announcement that Debbie Hamilton of Right Truth is the newest……

As an American Military Officer this reflects the culture of the military as a profession of arms. This type of post should make the newspapers, however the media and the public prefer to hear all of the ‘bad’ things. Having served with the French as well as other coalition partners, the comraderie between the Soldiers, regardless of nationality, is the fuel that drives him towards mission accomplishment. For those that never serve, I am sorry that you will never experience this type of dedication to a cause larger than yourself.
Continued performance towards mission accomplishment is what will end the GWOT.

I’ve been remiss in posting winners from teh Watcher’s Council, so here are the last two weeks’ results. November 28, 2008 Winning Council Submissions First place with 2 2/3 points! – The Colossus of Rhodey – Culture of Whine (a……

Thank you to “French autor”–you are a bit like de Toqueville, no?– and to all our allies who serve with our wonderful men and women of the military. I was just in Paris and found the French warm and friendly, like long lost cousins.

One thing I’ve taken away from trips to Europe is that there are just as many friends of America there as there are enemies of America. I remember quite vividly being in Frankfurt in 2003 when anti-Iraq war sentiment was particularly high, expecting hostility from the people I met, and being surprised by their outgoing, friendly conversation. It’s a real shame that noisier critics distort our view of Europe – there are still good people there.

Someone in this line mentioned Lafayette. This past year I read “Adopted Son” by David Clary. Great read, and I know I am even more convinced that if it had not been for the French, and one in particular, perhaps none of us would know the freedom that we now enjoy. The truth does come through from time to time.

to you all,
I’m very moved by your words, and I thank you all. Your guys are always in the mud over there, it is cool for me to know that you support your troops. But you know, don’t thanks me, thanks them all, it is because of their attitude if I wrote those lines. Your words are very honorary, to much for me at all. Thanks

Your ignorance is mind-blowing though. American propaganda has worked well on french too as you can see. But you have to realise here that it is only one man talking, who’s by the way in the tiny tiny french army, so why don’t you cut the crap with the “french people are so nice”, “they love us” huh ? He’s as brainwashed as you that’s all.

Thanks for standing in the line with our guys and gal’s Sons of Cherbourg. Liberty, in it’s most francais way, is truly the future of our species. With words like these, anything is possible. Keep them coming…….the world needs to see more of this.

Why can’t we just pay attention to what this French warrior said and forget all the politics, ignorance, insults and other garbage. This Man spoke from his heart. He was honest and eloquent, and I for one believe he speaks for many others. God Bless Him and his appreciation for our American fighting men and women. Some day we will all understand.
Mustang Marine, Korea and Vietnam.
SemperFi

Thank You for the article. Its always good to see the reality that is there rather than the media barrage of 24/7 junk. If ’09 brings us anything as a race, let it be a better view of the good that is in our basic humanity. If that alone could be seen-maybe less conflict- or conflict over sooner. God bless our Troops. Oh, the article is now cut/ pasted as a forward that is circulated. That alone means it will be seen by thousands- only without the link here. It’s taken on a new life. Laura

Nice to know that we are still appreciated by a people whom we have considered allies for the entire time our nation has been in existence.
France and the US have come to one another’s aid time and again.
Leave it to the grunts on the ground to keep this filial love alive!
Semper Fi!

It is nice to read something positive once in awhile. It speaks well of our young men and women and the way that they act professionally when necessary but hold to their own individual beliefs at the same time.

Non mes couilles, et l’article en Français SVP? ollllaaaa il faudrait y aller molo sur la propagande. On se la joue comme dans les films, t’es pas a hollywood mon mec. We French people we don’t dislike America. America dislike us. Our president Sarkozy, a Jew, is own by your CIA and the neocons that got you guys into Iraq. What a deepshit he is and he wont get reelected. Beside that, we don’t mind facing death with our Americans partners, but America has to get on the program and quit having propaganda units in France and Europe. We are not fooled, you guys like the limes and get in our Europeans business all the Freeking time. Do you read yank! Screw Kosovo and the freeking likes. Mind your freaking business you got 1929 revisited on your lap at home. Do you read? Over. Quit putting your nose in our back yard, we would be muuuuuuuch better friends. You know what we think of your freedom fries…..we don’t even claim them as ours, you dumb truck! Put this in your head also NATO = North Atlantic Terrorist Organization, when I think you wanted to use the equipment to kick the crap out of pour Saddam. What about the torture chambers in Europe. Get the FUCK out. You help us, sure. We Have paid back all our WAR debt what else do you want. Our women, over my dead buddy, pal! what about you guys supplying weapons to the FLN (Algeria’s war)to kill French soldiers. Fuck no, you want to force us to take rag head country Turkey in the EU. Or you out of you freeking mind Yank? Mind your own fucking business and we we help you like brother. Have you forgotten that France is your oldest ally? Not freeking Britain! But, you always side on the limes side. Why, since WWII do you always stab us in the Back? Why yank? Remember this, quit backing the French left America! get your PSYOP out of my country FRANCE, yes do you read? Over. America be for once on France’s side and do not ask if France is on your side. France since the birth of America has been on your side and you have been great to us, yes you have. Why since then haven’t you want to be on France side. Why do you want to steal France influence in Africa? Why do you send us all those Muslims camel jockeys. The next war will be in France, You have made us a country of rag heads fucking camel jockeys. Yes my brothers, we will fight with you, your war here in Afghanistan, proudly and no questions ask. Please brothers quit making France an Arab country, help us stop the Arab invasion of France with your SPYOPs so far turned against, we hold the same values and we once were Christians, you are turning us into Muslims. Why are your SPYOPs doing that to us, do you hate us that much? wanting France ruined by Muslims. Why, why are you doing that to us America, why? You are going to need our cash to get out of your mess, we will provide it to you, just 2 things brother, 1)stay out of Europe’s business and you will always find us standing next to you 2) help us stop and reverse the flow of Muslims into our country. Come on Obama be the man you can be! Help us reunite our forces, America needs it, France needs it, Europe needs it, the world needs it! we will fight Iran with you, just don’t expect us to fully rejoin NATO, we need our independence as brothers must self respect.

get a grip frenchie . you should be allies with someone like luxembourg, about your limit, and those limes(brits) lost millions in saving your yellow arses. .agree with you about the jews running world politics by totally controlling US wealth. as a Brit of german descent i find it insulting for a Frog to slate the british . and to all americans who keep posting the french helped americans against brits . wrong , the french helped one group of brits defeat another group of brits, i wouldn’t trust a fucking word either of you say. i am just sorry Britain got involved in wars to save your french arses. if we didn’t then Britain as a nation would not of bankrupted itself and left it open to being used as puppets. and while on the subject , IF SYRIA CAN HAVE NO ARMS WHY THE FUCK ARE ISRAEL ALLOWED TO STOCK SUCH AN ARSENAL they are bigger war criminals than Hitler ever was, but whereas Britain tried as the superpower to stop him, the powers these days are actively encouraging them , no country has the right to say they are the good guys when every orgsanisation have quoted the fact that many Israeli’s should be facing war crime trials, re nazi’s. .while they smugly openly state that will never happen , i just hope China are the next superpower and that they will have morals. .i just want to fuck every religion and race out of the UK SO MAYBE WE COULD AGAIN HAVE THE BACKKBONE TO DO THE RIGHT THING , (not only after we get attacked first like some hero nations). hopefully we would last longer than the french did defending themseves ,fucking allies . backstabbing bastards

Non mes couilles, et l’article en Français SVP? ollllaaaa il faudrait y aller molo sur la propagande. On se la joue comme dans les films, t’es pas a hollywood mon mec. We French people we don’t dislike America. America dislike us. Our president Sarkozy, a Jew, is own by your CIA and the neocons that got you guys into Iraq. What a deepshit he is and he wont get reelected. Beside that, we don’t mind facing death with our Americans partners, but America has to get on the program and quit having propaganda units in France and Europe. We are not fooled, you guys like the limes and get in our Europeans business all the Freeking time. Do you read yank! Screw Kosovo and the freeking likes. Mind your freaking business you got 1929 revisited on your lap at home. Do you read? Over. Quit putting your nose in our back yard, we would be muuuuuuuch better friends. You know what we think of your freedom fries…..we don’t even claim them as ours, you dumb truck! Put this in your head also NATO = North Atlantic Terrorist Organization, when I think you wanted to use the equipment to kick the crap out of pour Saddam. What about the torture chambers in Europe. Get the FUCK out. You help us, sure. We Have paid back all our WAR debt what else do you want. Our women, over my dead buddy, pal! what about you guys supplying weapons to the FLN (Algeria’s war)to kill French soldiers. Fuck no, you want to force us to take rag head country Turkey in the EU. Or you out of you freeking mind Yank? Mind your own fucking business and we we help you like brother. Have you forgotten that France is your oldest ally? Not freeking Britain! But, you always side on the limes side. Why, since WWII do you always stab us in the Back? Why yank? Remember this, quit backing the French left America! get your PSYOP out of my country FRANCE, yes do you read? Over. America be for once on France’s side and do not ask if France is on your side. France since the birth of America has been on your side and you have been great to us, yes you have. Why since then haven’t you want to be on France side. Why do you want to steal France influence in Africa? Why do you send us all those Muslims camel jockeys. The next war will be in France, You have made us a country of rag heads fucking camel jockeys. Yes my brothers, we will fight with you, your war here in Afghanistan, proudly and no questions ask. Please brothers quit making France an Arab country, help us stop the Arab invasion of France with your SPYOPs so far turned against, we hold the same values and we once were Christians, you are turning us into Muslims. Why are your SPYOPs doing that to us, do you hate us that much? wanting France ruined by Muslims. Why, why are you doing that to us America, why? You are going to need our cash to get out of your mess, we will provide it to you, just 2 things brother, 1)stay out of Europe’s business and you will always find us standing next to you 2) help us stop and reverse the flow of Muslims into our country. Come on Obama be the man you can be! Help us reunite our forces, America needs it, France needs it, Europe needs it, the world needs it! we will fight Iran with you, just don’t expect us to fully rejoin NATO, we need our independence as brothers must self respect.

You seem all ( Americans) surprise that French can pay tribute to you and especially to your Soldiers.

It seem in French army, that soldiers French soldiers respect U.S more than you think, and from people side, I think too.
I don’t think that French are against to US, or only the extreme Right/Left wings in politics, maybe 5% of population?! But this is their opinions you are hearing the most…that’s why it’s bad for our relationships.

I was born in Paris 55 years ago, but only stayed two weeks. My American parents were traveling, so I am a derivative American citizen.

I have never admired the French people, but it appears possible that I simply did not hear the right voices. If these French troops react this way to a professional a professional military unit, regardless their nationality, then perhaps they are much better than the credit I had given them.

US Army Security Agency, 1969 – 1975, ASA Lives, There are no surprises in this article for me, then again I thought that 7th Army (Bad Tolz) NCO Academy was a Vacation, just another school, even a great place to expand in.

Thank you for this post. I can name my fathers who have defended American freedom since the Seven Years’ War (French & Indian). I’ve read their letters and held their medals and I have always known them as strong men of valor, willing to die with dignity and honor so that others may live free. Rarely, however, have I read such a personal tribute to the common soldier. The broad historic strokes painting Normandy and Tripoli and Bunker Hill are superb, but they cannot look into the eyes of my people. The author of this article has done that and done it well.

I would like to have this published in some of the local papers but there is an issue of verification of authentisity (hope I didn’t mess that spelling up to bad). Can you give me something that would allow this to be supported.
So often American’s are viewed in a negative way. Especially our solders and military people. I would like for the public to see a view from another country’s prespective.
Regards, Linda

I have once been in touch with the author by mail. The original author’s now deleted blog has been cited by enough journalists, soldiers and members of the French military community that it has sufficient credibility – but the evidence is in French. I wonder why the blog is now offline – may be the French soldiers have been told to be more quiet about what they do in Afghanistan.

As a former U.S. Army Engineer (326th & 65th Engneer Bn) I can honestly swear that we always had to hustle to keep ahead of the Infantry Units we supported. The few times we trained with foreign troops (Britt and Aussie) we were always in good company. Thanks to the Frenchman for his kind words.

As far as I am from my friends of the United States of America, and as proud as I am to write and to be read by you in this homepage, I thank you all guys to the kind words you wrote. II hope that one day I’ll have the opportunity to visit your awesome country, to meet all my brothers in arms in a peace area, making a big fiesta to enjoy this moment.
thank you all.
Best regards.
Major G. FRE Army.

Thank you for the heart-felt words regarding our soldiers. You have eloquently demonstrated that the bonds of warriors from free peoples – and allies – make our superficial barriers seem trivial and irrelevant. We appreciate your service as well, and we wish you success on the battlefield and God’s speed. De Oppresso Libre!

Thank you for the kind words from the French soldier. My late father helped liberate France. His sons and grandsons have also served their country. He would be pleased by your opinion of the American soldier.

Thanks, for your fine comments. The American soldiers I have served with fit the description of our French brother-in-arms. As a US Solder, I had the honor to serve alongside French Foreign Legion. I found them tough, honorable and incredible fighters. Of course many were not, in fact, of French origin. None the less, it was a French unit, with French officers.
What sets the US soldier apart is the aggressive nature, and the superb non-commissioned officer corps. No unit is ever without a leader. Someone will always step forward to lead. Finally, the huge amount of our citizens’ give to sustains them in times of depravation.
Jamie

In lauding our troops, why would you ‘slight’ (insult) your own troops, not once but several times? ‘Always come to your rescue’? Do your troops Always need to be Rescued? I would think Not. You call your own troops Wimps? Perhaps you do not understand that in America, Wimp also means Coward. I have always admired the French people, culture and history. It is hard to believe a French trooper would demean (insult) his own men.

Rambo? Just Charge, attack.
Our troops are aggressive, but Rambo Style is totally careless, reckless, unplanned. And even thought our troops are in excellent physical condition, they are not all built like Rambo. We are proud of our troops, but your description was exaggerated to the point of being unbelievable.

Insults do not effect me. I read your article using Logic and it did not ‘Ring True’.

You need to update your facts. Many agents from the CIA and DOD Intel now say they told the White House there was no basis, nio evidence of WMDs, but the intel was modified by Rumsfeld and Cheney’s people to suit Bush’s ambition.

A Patriot: To woundedduck:
Obviously congress believed what our president believed to be true. And our president got his info from our intel. agencies. So if you notice, he did not make the decision to go to war on his own. A large amount of our govt. helped with the decision.
So get off bush’s back.

As I have said repeatedly, I’m sorry that the original source disappeared and that I no longer have the original text available nor any way to get the original author to vouch for the translation. The credibility of it all will therefore remain an open question.

For a moment, let us Not Focus on the Glorification of our troops in the article, and focus instead on the serious allegations of military problems that the article reveals.

1. Are our allies Combat Ready, Properly Trained and Motivated, and able to effectively communicate with our troops on the battlefield on a level such that our troops are not endangered?
2. Do our own troops, due to regional dialects and accents, have problems communicating on the battlefield during “Crisis” situations?
3. Are our troops properly supplied in order to attend to their basic hygienic needs?
4. Do our commanders in the field properly assess the situation and prepare a battle plan before committing our troops to combat?

Were I to take the article completely seriously, I would be compelled to send it to my life long friend, who retired from the U.S. Army as a Lt. Col. while serving in the Pentagon, and ask him to forward the article to the proper department for investigation. As my friend is still working for our government at the Pentagon as a contractor, conducting the same functions he performed while in uniform, I am sure he has maintained contacts who would be dismayed if they were to discover that the allegations made by the French Infantryman were true.

But as the ‘french autor’ demonstrates a propensity to use language, words and phrases which typically would move the reader to an Emotional Level, and thereby circumvent the reader’s Logical processes, the article appears to be merely an attempt at Mental Manipulation to garner public support, not merely for our troops, but also for the war they are fighting during a time (Nov 2008) when many Americans question whether or not it is a justifiable and / or winnable war.

Chevalier Blanc, you are missing the point : this is all about emotions and a positive ego stroke. If you wish to take this as a piece of data about troop readiness and the workings of international collaboration in Afpak, then maybe you need a (much) larger sample before you declare this an intelligence breakthrough and subsequently jump to conclusions. Meanwhile, if you are in the northern hemisphere, I wish you a happy winter solstice !

I received this letter in an email yesterday. I am a US citizen and even though I now know it was written over a year ago, I still want to thank you for it. At a time when the US seems to be criticized for everything we do, I find it makes me very proud. Our country’s need to become better friends and work together to combat world wide terrorism. Thank you also, to France!

Please post the link with the original article en Francais. I would like to read this in French and see it with my own own eyes. It seems to promote something that is not supported as we now see what this war is all about. I am sorry those boys are fighting for those who are ruining our economy. Anyone who is in combat most likely did not get past high school and had few other choices to get ahead. Decided to take the G.I. bill and now they find themselves in the middle east and at war. I am sad for the troops and their families. This is big business folks.

This is not french written, it does not have the tone, cadence or nuances of French. Must likely it was written by one of the hundreds of Psy-ops operatives in the US Army, one of the thousands of paid Israeli bloggers or written by a PR firm.

This is clearly advertising, propaganda of the simplest type. What do they think we are; babies?

I was the American commander on the ground at the remote firebase in Afghanistan with the author of this article. Let me clear a few things up. Yes the article was written by a member of the French Army, and yes he was an infantryman. It was written out of the interest of their family members wondering what it was like to live and fight alongside members of the American Army. It was posted for the members of the OMLT families to get a glimpse into their day to day life. I have read the English version of this posted on the website. I will say that the translation is different than the original article however it is fairly accurate.
It was never sent out as a type of propaganda in fact it was never meant to go any farther than the families. However due to the nature of the article it spread from the families of the soldiers to their friends and then farther out. Are parts of it exaggerated? Yes. It usually took us around 10 mins. to change from t-shirts and flip flops to our full kit and leave the wire once called for a mission. No we did not charge into battle like Rambo “bomb first and ask questions later.” However, we never shied away from a firefight either, and no we were not constantly coming to the French’s rescue. However we did react to several of their contacts as a QRF force in order to help support them when they were ambushed with small arms and an IED. Just like they did for us. Finally, politics has nothing to do with this article. I did not care what MAJ G’s political affiliation was or what he thought of our President. What I did care about was our ability to support each other in combat
It is a shame that some people read something like this and automatically assume that is something more than it really is. Do not tarnish the meaning of this article with your bias opinions. Regardless whether or not you think this is real does not matter to me. It was my honor to have served with the French. I am still now, as I was then, humbled by this article. It was written by someone who I consider to be my good friend. MAJ G thank you again for your kind words.

It was a pleasure reading this article, and it made me proud to have been a warrior at one time, in the great lineage of American warriors. It was also, very interesting reading the wide diversity of replys, most valuable, if correct, was the confirmation at the end by Devil 6.
A combination of factors are at work in this piece from, the current national mentallity, the state of our volunteer force, the cause, the unit that was reflective in this piece, and most inmportantly, the command history and leadership existing in our armed forces, especially Afhanistan.
I had the pleasure to serve with these inspirational leaders in my military past. I can attest to the quality of these men! The truly great leaders, Gens Dan M., Dave B., Randy M., Dave R., and currently Stan McChrystal were mostly born of the American Ranger lineage of, selfless service to our nation and our soldiers, an uncompromising discipline, and the evolution of a warrior spirit that transcends politics, or any sense of mission other than a true sense of rightness. I believe the article was somewhat exagerated, but does truly reflect the level of leadership that has been an evolving significant factor in our armed forces.

Thank you for translating and sharing Maj. G’s letter. I was proud to read his letter — proud of this French officer who wrote the letter, proud of the French soldiers he commanded, and proud of the Americans with whom they served. I served more than 20 years in the United States Army. I believe Maj. G’s letter accurately portrays the spirit of comradeship and mutual support typical of allied soldiers in a battle zone.

As a southern gentlemen, I appreciate all the French have done, both for this country in blockading the exit of Cornwallis and expediting the end of our War of Independence from England, and the support provided to the cause of the Southern effort to rid itself of Northern Aggression. Thank you for the kind words.

hello everybody,
I’m everyday surprised to see that, about tree years later, my article provoques reactions. I have not the possibility to prove the authenticity of who I am. A couple of years ago the platoon leader of my partnership unit,tried on those pages to certifie the truth of the story. I just wanted to claim the goodness, the professionalism, the top qualities of your guys, undepending of the stockolm syndrom, after a couple of months alongside this US unit. Just believe me. Just get the tast of the proud, for you, to be American, just be proud of it. I’m sorry for the wrong way that some writers are trying to recce.
Regards. LTC G., a french former OMLT, now a vet of Afghanistan

I have read the original French text and I am pretty sure it is from a native French speaker (sorry to disappoint the liberals coming here) with some idiomatic expressions that are not that easy to translate in English and that your average French speaking American would not use properly or even know. Syntax and spelling are perfect so he is not a high school drop-out. In fact he surely was in the top ten in French class. In case he is really from military the perfection of his French points to the writer being an officer possibly a senior one.

“ici ou tout le monde peuvent le voir” monde (singular) does not match peuvent (plural), also the sentence does not make sense in French, better would be “ici, afin que tout le monde puisse le voir” or “ici où tout le monde pourra le voir”. I will pass on the fact he is writing “ou” (or) instead of “où” (where). It could be a typo but he doesn’t make them when he writes in English.

“fournit moi” that is third person, it should be “fourniS-moi”. Also I notice he is using the familiar form and later in the sentence he uses the polite form. Polite form would be “fournissez-moi”

“avec votre article original” the word “avec” (with) does not make sense since Chevalier is asking for one thing only.

Moving article.. It took a lot of courage for this French soldier to write these truths. I couldn’t have said it better. With 20yrs in the US Army I am proud of our fighting men and women.. They inspire me too.. Thank you for writing this. I will repost it on my leadership blog.

Hello,
Thank you for having made a snapshop of our website 5 years ago. Back in France, we received the order from the higher HQ to delete it. It is true that we live overthere a “fucking” awesome adventure. I’m always happy to read a comment concerning this text. Because you can, and must be proud of your guys. Every year, I share my proudness and my honor to serve alongside those guys from the Army in the American cemetery nearby my town in France for Memory Day.
But as lot of other guys, we came back with invisible injuries, “post traumatics”, so… don’t forgot the former soldiers, support them, help them, forgive them.

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